Shattered

Chapter 10

Tom stood outside of the apartment, his fist clenched and his face a light burgundy.
How can he trust him again?... just like that??
He buried his face in his hands and wiped away the angry tears. Tom tried to calm his breathing as he began his walk back to his apartment. The memories came flooding back like a wave of black...black tar that consumed him in a matter of seconds. Matt's face purple from the bruise Tord inflicted...Edd sobbing quietly at night and waking up screaming. Then there was Eduardo. Eduardo stayed in his apartment for days... Weeks even. Mark moved to Norway after John died.
Sometime around Christmas, Edd thought he might go check on him. He even baked cookies. Tom heard a crash moments after Edd entered the apartment. He ran in and saw Edd's cookies on the floor... The plate was broken.
"What's the big d-" He saw Eduardo's body hanging...Just hanging there from the ceiling...Tom fell to his knees. He felt sick and buried his face in his hands. Wake up. Just wake up. Please wake up already...It was only a dream. It couldn't be real.
This can't be happening...
Tom clenched his fists as he came back to reality. His breathing was quick and shallow and tears rolled down his face. It was hard to breathe and he felt as if he had just been crushed by a wall of bricks.
He sat down and buried his face in his knees.
It's okay...it's okay..it's o- He cried harder. It wasn't okay and he knew it.
1...2...3...4...5...6...
Tom counted to ten. It was a trick Edd taught him to calm panic attacks. He kept counting... and counting...He couldn't seem to get a grasp on reality.
"Shhh...Tom..." He felt a blanket draped on him and someone picking him off the floor. Tom jerked violently against the person and tried to get away.
"Tom it's Matt...Shhh it's okay. It's gonna be okay... I promise"